Schedule for 2019

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

Ruth Pike did the artwork for both books.

I am so excited for this new book! The New 42:Got Terraforms All Things. My co-author Nathan Marchand and I take readers on a journey from Genesis to Revelation to see how God is always doing new things and how we can experience His work and participate in it. Many stories from anime, gaming, science fiction, super heroes and fantasy will help us with our exploration. You will be challenged with daily side quests to help pursue the larger quest of knowing Christ more fully. We will be premiering this book at MuskeCon at the Holiday Inn in Muskegon, MI on March 23. It will be on Amazon soon after that and eventually will be on the Kindall.

Have you been to Nathan's website and looked at his fiction writing? You should do so by going here.

Here are my current con plans for 2019. NOTE:there might be changes to this list so check back every now and then or "Like" the Facebook page. You can also follow me on Instagram (nerd_chapel).

If you want to find even more nerdy events in Michigan check out www.migeekscene.com.

March 23:           MuskeCon in Muskegon, MI.
March 30-31:     Fantasticon in Port Huron, MI
April 14:             Attend Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, IL. Not tabling just enjoying the con for                               one day. Say hi if you see me.
April 19-21:       Heroes and Villains Fanfest in Chicago, IL. as part of the Costumers for Christ crew.
May 4:                Heroes Expo in Kentwood, MI
June 7-9:             JAFAX in Grand Rapids, MI. First time with a booth here. Cooperating with author                             Paul Nowak and the Redeemed Otaku Podcast.
July 20:               KoganCon in Grand Haven, MI. Hosting games in the TableTop area.
July 27-28:          Get Geek'd in Lansing, MI.
August 1-4:         GenCon in Indianapolis, IN. Helping Nathan with his table in Author's Ave.
Aug. 30-Sept. 1: GrandCon Gaming Convention in Grand Rapids, MI.
                           We will have a Chapel event and a table. I will also run some games.
Sept. 21-22:        Fantasticon in Fort Wayne, IN.
October 19-20:   Fantasticon in Mount Pleasant, MI.

2017 Summer/Fall Con Schedule

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Here is my con schedule for official events for this year. There might be additions or changes, but this is what I currently have planned:

June 18: Nerd Chapel Sunday Service at JAFAX in Grand Rapids, MI. I'll be hanging out at the con all weekend but not with a table. The service is at 10am Sunday Morning in Panel Room 2. You might find me walking around as Martian Manhunter from Justice League/Justice League Unlimited on one of these days.

July 20-22: Christian Game Developers Conference in Portland, OR. Many details still need to come together but this is happening. I'll be helping with the ministry/worship portion of the event and possibly running games.

Sept. 15-17: GrandCon Gaming Convention in Grand Rapids, MI. This will include both a table and the Nerd Chapel Sunday Service. I'm running 2 rounds of Pandemic Friday night and a session for Monsterpocalypse on Saturday night.

Oct. 28-29: Fantasticon in Fort Wayne, IN. with a table.

Nov. 11-12: Fantasticon in Mt. Pleasant, MI. with a table.

Unofficial, I'm sure I'll be hanging out at Grand Rapids Comic Con in October and I am hoping to make it to GenCon in August, but these will not be "official" in any way. 

Thank you Toledo!

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Toledo was a great success. I met a lot of great people at Fantasticon. My interactions included an adult who came with teens he had met at church. We talked about his concerns with violent movies. A man who grew up Catholic but no longer identifies as a Christian. We talked about a lot of religious topics. He left saying a traditional blessing to me. A group of high schoolers who run a D&D campaign with a mix of religions who have received a lot of flack from members of their church. They were excited to find a Christian nerd out there publicly. A woman who called herself a witch. We talked a little and she thumbed through the devotional and walked away. On one side I had an author who has written a few books a comic (Cutthroat Comics). On the other side a guy who makes custom funko pops for people (Somehow I don't have a name for him or a card).

Many people bought copies of 42:Discovering Faith through Fandom. Some flipped through it and moved on.

One of the more confusing things I had was this. I saw about 4 or 5 people who had Christian shirts or shirts related to Christian schools on. Most of them didn't even look at my table. 1 of them was one of the high schoolers mentioned above. He was quick to buy a copy of 42. Don't worry, I'm not freaking out about this, but it was annoying. Whenever you have a table at a con there are those who just look past your table like it isn't there, even if you say "hi" to them. It happens, but when they have a shirt for something you both agree with it is extra annoying. Sometimes they were so inattentive that I knew if I tried to say something about their shirt it they would not even hear me.

Overall, this was a great weekend. Here are a few pics.

Events of Feb./March 2017

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

Here is a list of events Nerd Chapel will be at over the next 2 months.

I'll have a table at all of these events.

February 4: Byron Center Rec Comic Con https://www.facebook.com/events/228038290910925/

March 3-5: Michigan Statewide Teen Convention http://mistatewide.org/
Of these events, this is the only one that will use my public speaking skills. I'll be sharing at one of the main sessions and possibly leading a workshop.

March 11-12: Fantasticon Toledo http://www.fantasticon.net/

March 18: Muskecon https://www.facebook.com/events/1102894249776217/

My first Fantasticon

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

This last weekend I had the privilege of a table at Fantasticon Fort Wayne. This convention is a travelling convention that goes to markets with little to no con experience available. I was selling 42:Discovering Faith Through Fandom and just being a friendly face for the Kingdom. This convention did not feel comfortable with a chapel service but I did get to do some networking as other Christians who were vending different items came to talk with me. Nathan Marchand, my co-author for 42, had the table next to me with author Nick Hayden. Nathan's brother also joined us with a table to sell his artwork.

Since I arrived way early during setup on Friday, I went around and managed to help a few other vendors in with setup. Then Nathan and I went to a Halloween dance party at the Fort Wayne Ballroom Company. He went as Spock and I was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Over the weekend, I got to talk to many people. Some were just appreciative to find Christians who embrace nerd culture gracefully. Some were Christians who were excited that someone had written a devotional for their sphere of influence. A couple of guys who were there as part of Huntington Universities Digitial Arts program thought the book would be a good resource for a ministry major who runs their D&D group and were hoping they could use the entries to start off their game nights.

One girl I talked with was so glad to see a Christian embracing nerd culture. She doesn't go to church any more, partly because a youth pastor had told her she was a "blasphemer" for reading science fiction. My head immediately dropped in frustration toward those in the church who make extra rules because they don't understand another person's hobbies. Didn't Jesus Himself have a few words about extra rules?

Did I have an amazing conversation that led someone to Jesus? Well, not in the sense of a huge prayer and drastic life change. I did start to build some bridges, though. I think I also helped chip away at walls that have been built against faith simply by being friendly.